Leadership Team
Staff
UC California Naturalist & Climate Stewards Team
Staff:
Gregory “Greg” Ira is the CalNat Director, based at UC ANR in Davis. His areas of interest include field-based environmental education, volunteer water quality monitoring, tools for addressing culture in environmental programs and strategic program planning. After completing his Bachelors in Environmental Studies and Masters in Asian Studies, he worked for six years in the Philippines integrating conservation into the context of rural development. In Florida, he established statewide environmental education programs for students and teachers and managed sustainable initiatives including the Florida Green Lodging program.
Sarah-Mae Nelson leads the California Naturalist program’s UC Climate Stewards certification course. An educator, science communicator, and climate change interpreter, she's worked for the Monterey Bay Aquarium as a Conservation Interpreter and Online Community Manager for ClimateInterpreter.org. Sarah-Mae is an active member of the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation (NNOCCI), sitting on one of the leadership committees
Eliot Freutel is the Southern California Community Education Specialist (CES) for Climate Stewards and California Naturalist. Eliot's background is in language translation, informal marine science education with an emphasis on island ecology, and community climate resilience. He enjoys free-diving, backpacking and spending time outside with his kids.
Pamela Byrnes is the Bay Area-Capital Corridor Community Education Specialist (CES) for Climate Stewards and California Naturalist. As a Marine Biologist, Naturalist and Educator, Pamela has led educational programs and natural history/research trips along the California coast and internationally. Her studies focused on marine mammals, seabirds, wetlands and coastal ecosystems. She enjoys, hiking, gardening and watching wildlife.
Karyn Utsumi serves as the Northern and Sierra/Central California Community Education Specialist (CES). With a background in environmental restoration and education, Karyn enjoys teaching people of all ages the importance of California’s unique and diverse ecology and concepts of sustainability. She enjoys nature walks, reading, and exploring new parts of California.
Academic Leadership
Lead Scientist
Check out Dr. Barrows's blog on natural history topics.
Affiliated Advisors